Surface-mounted components are inspected at many stages of their manufacture and for many different flaws. One type of component is a surface-mounted multi-layered ceramic capacitor (MLCC) component. As they are manufactured and used these components must be smooth, or planar. These components are typically made from ceramic and thus can be comparatively easily scratched, chipped or broken. These types of defects are generally referred to as three-dimensional, or 3-D defects. Ceramic components may also include other types of 3-D defects such as holes.
A core problem with inspecting ceramic components for 3-D defects is that it is difficult to distinguish between an unacceptable 3-D defect and an acceptable stain. To solve this problem the prior art developed highly sophisticated vision algorithms. Because a certain amount of imperfection can be tolerated, the algorithms must also qualify the 3-D defects as to whether they compel the rejection of a component or whether they can be tolerated. These algorithms did not operate as quickly as many manufacturers would have liked because of the amount of computer processor time they required. Further, the prior art algorithms required that the components move at a comparatively slow rate so that the inspection could be carried out. The prior art techniques often resulted in an artificially high rejection rate as vision algorithms could not distinguish between discolorations and 3-D defects.
Therefore a need has arisen to provide an inspection system that can easily distinguish 3-D information from 2-D information at a comparatively faster rate without the use of excessive computational power.